Improve Your Password Security

4/30/2018

We’ve been on the internet for almost 35 years, yet we still haven’t learned our lesson about online passwords. According to a recent security study, the most commonly used web passwords are things like “123456” and “password.” Sure, they’re easy to remember, but that makes them just as easy to hack. And if you use that simple password across multiple accounts—as a reported 92 percent of online users do—that puts all of your data at risk. Here are seven tips for ensuring your passwords are as strong as possible.

Good passwords are long, at least 12 characters.

Good passwords have nothing to do with you, your children, or pets.

Passwords should never be reused.

Change your passwords regularly.

Symbols and numbers make passwords harder to crack.

Don't share your passwords with anyone.

Two common ways to create secure passwords: Think of a phrase then select the first or last letter of each word in the phrase to use as your password. Throw in some digits too. Or pick three or four random words and paste them together with numbers in between.